| John Compton Dam | |
|---|---|
  Location of John Compton Dam in Saint Lucia | |
| Country | Saint Lucia |
| Location | Millet, Anse la Raye Quarter |
| Coordinates | 13°54′1.25″N060°59′16.66″W / 13.9003472°N 60.9879611°W Coordinates: 13°54′1.25″N060°59′16.66″W / 13.9003472°N 60.9879611°W |
| Purpose | Municipal water |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | 1993 |
| Opening date | 1995 |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Embankment, concrete-face rock-fill |
| Impounds | Roseau River |
| Height | 45 m (148 ft) |
| Length | 200 m (660 ft) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Roseau Reservoir |
| Total capacity | 2,600,000 m3 (2,100 acre⋅ft) |
The John Compton Dam, formerly known as the Roseau Dam, is a concrete-face rock-fill dam on the Roseau River in the small community of Millet in central Saint Lucia. The primary purpose of the dam is municipal water supply. It is named after John Compton, the former Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, who was influential in its implementation. [1]
The Roseau River is a river in Saint Lucia. It flows north and then west from the central highlands in the south of the island, reaching the Caribbean Sea to the north of the town of Anse la Raye. The Roseau river is also the longest in the country and is dammed by the John Compton Dam near Millet.
Saint Lucia is a sovereign island country in the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. The island was previously called Iyonola, the name given to the island by the native Amerindians and later, Hewanorra, the name given by the native Caribs. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 617 km2 and reported a population of 165,595 in the 2010 census. Its capital is Castries.
Sir John George Melvin Compton, was a Saint Lucian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia on three occasions: briefly in 1979, again from 1982 to 1996, and from 2006 until his death in 2007. Compton, who previously led Saint Lucia under British rule from 1964 to 1979, was the country's first leader when it became independent in February 1979. He led the conservative United Workers Party (UWP) from 1964 until 1996, and again from 2005 to 2007.
Construction on it began in April 1993 but was substantially delayed when Tropical Storm Debby struck the island on 10 September 1994. Rainfall from the storm exceeded the 1000 year estimate and ensuing floods breached the incomplete dam. The dam was eventually completed in October 1995. [2] The dam's reservoir, Roseau Reservoir, is experiencing heavily siltation and studies are currently underway to remediate the problem. Hurricane Tomas in 2010 and a severe December 2013 storm created large landslides in the reservoir that have reduced its capacity by 30 percent. [3] [4]
Tropical Storm Debby was a weak but costly tropical cyclone that affected the Lesser Antilles in September 1994. It was the fourth named tropical storm of the 1994 Atlantic hurricane season; it developed on September 9 east of Barbados. Debby made landfall on Saint Lucia early on September 10, producing heavy rainfall and tropical storm-force wind gusts. The rains caused flooding and landslides, damaging about half of the island's banana plantations. Several villages were isolated after roads and bridges were damaged. Damage totaled about $103 million (1994 USD). On nearby Dominica, Debby damaged crops and fisheries.
Hurricane Tomas was the latest recorded tropical cyclone on a calendar year to strike the Windward Islands. The nineteenth named storm and twelfth hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, Tomas developed from a tropical wave east of the Windward Islands on October 29. Quickly intensifying into a hurricane, it moved through the Windward Islands and passed over Saint Lucia. After reaching Category 2 status on the Saffir-Simpson scale, Tomas quickly weakened to a tropical storm in the central Caribbean Sea, due to strong wind shear and dry air. Tomas later regained hurricane status as it reorganized near the Windward passage.
